


Before The Dawn

by ElisaPhoenix



Series: Supreme Family Chaos [121]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Other, POV Cassie Lang, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26984626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElisaPhoenix/pseuds/ElisaPhoenix
Summary: Tony needed help so Cassie was going to take it upon herself to give it. He lost family and friends, she lost family and friends......but he was at his breaking point. It was time for her to step up.
Relationships: Tony Stark & Cassie Lang & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Supreme Family Chaos [121]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1364899
Comments: 20
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

Tony was quiet but Cassie understood why. He just lost his entire family and half of his friends, and only Diana had survived the snap the adults were talking about. When Tony saw Cassie, he asked about Scott and Steve had told him that he was missing and her mom and stepdad were either out of reception range or victims. So Tony had her pack her things and took her and Diana with him after he recovered from his near month in space.

That was how she found herself in the backseat of his car and on their way to a new house he said he bought, with only the radio to fill the silence and Diana's periodic cooing. Cassie didn't feel it was the right time to strike up conversation and that it was best to leave Tony to his thoughts for now, and she kept herself entertained with either a book or playing with the baby. When Diana started fussing though, Cassie immediately reached into the diaper bag between them and grabbed what she needed to make her a bottle.

A water bottle, formula, and a baby bottle were all fished out and she carefully poured formula and water into the bottle before closing it tightly and shaking it. Just like Stephen showed her. Cassie loved helping him with the baby so she asked him to show her how to do things so she could help when he needed it. She was glad she did because Tony needed it now more than ever. He wouldn't need to make as many stops and maybe they would only need to make one before they got to the house they were going to.

Diana quiets immediately when Cassie offers her the bottle and the baby drinks hungrily as Cassie holds it. She was getting hungry herself and Tony seemed to read her mind because he briefly caught her eye in the rearview before he looked back at the road.

"We'll be there in about half an hour. Think you can hold out?" Tony asks.  
"Is there food there already?" Cassie asks.  
"No. It will be delivered tomorrow but there's somewhere close to the house we can drive through."  
"I can wait." Cassie nods.

Tony answers with a nod and Cassie pulls the bottle away when Dia is finished with it and sticks it back in the diaper bag. She keeps her entertained with some toys and then eventually a teething ring and before Cassie knows it, Tony is pulling into a drive thru and asking her what she wants and then putting the bag of food in the passenger seat before he's driving away again. It was another ten minutes before he was pulling onto a gravel road and the sound of crunching under the tires drew Cassie's attention out the window and the scenery around them.

The first thing she saw was the enormous lake. It was too cold to go swimming but maybe when it warmed up, Tony might distract himself and take her out. She didn't keep her hopes up though. Tony was hurting and depressed and needed time to mourn, just like the rest of the world, and Cassie knew he had to have that time. She did too. Her dad was missing as well as her mom and stepdad...and it was possible they met the same fate as half of the world. For all she knew, she only had Tony and Diana.

Tony parks and turns off the car before he gets out to open the back door and unbuckle Diana to pull her out. "Don't worry about our bags just yet. Can you get the diaper bag and the food?"  
"Yeah." Cassie nods and gets out of the car and grabs Diana's diaper bag before she closes her door, and the bag of food from the front seat before following Tony inside. "Where is Dia sleeping?"  
"Her own room. Everything should be set up. I'll have one of the baby monitors in my room." Tony responds. "Go ahead and eat. I'll take her up and lay her down after I change her."

Cassie hands him the diaper bag when he reaches for it, and then sits at the table with their food as he disappears up the stairs. As she bit into her chicken nugget, Cassie looked around the cabin and almost frowned when she noticed that it was only furnished with the bare essentials. At the tower, it always felt like a home because it always had something personalized lying somewhere. But here? There wasn't a pile of books in the corner, there wasn't a completed lego structure sitting on an end table, no baby toys strewn about…

She decided she needed to help change that whether Tony liked it or not. Maybe she didn't have anything of Stephen's, Peter's, or Harley's, but she had her things and Diana's. She would help make this a home too even if it wouldn't be the same as the tower.

Tony returns downstairs and sits across from her and then pulls his hamburger out of the bag. "We'll get the other bags when we finish eating. You can go find a room you want." He frowns. "Uhh...you don't need help with taking a shower or anything do you?"  
"No. I can do it myself." Cassie says and finishes her last chicken nugget.

Tony visibly sighs with relief. Cassie had a feeling he wasn't comfortable with the possibility of having to help her but she was old enough to take care of herself. 

She waits until he finishes his dinner and then they go back outside to grab their bags from the trunk and she carries hers in and upstairs. All of the doors were open except for one and she figured that was Diana's room. So she looked into the nearest one, glad that it wasn't the master bedroom, and went in to put her bag on the bed. She takes her time unpacking and putting her things away, takes a quick shower, and then goes to bed. She didn't fall asleep straight away though. That was when she took the time to cry for her parents. For the family she found in the Avengers. Cassie was lucky Tony was willing to take care of her.

She cried herself to sleep.

When Cassie woke up the next morning, the first thing she heard was Diana crying but figured Tony would be tending to her soon enough and got up to get ready. By the time she had gotten dressed and brushed her hair, Diana was still crying and Cassie frowned as she left her room. She checked the master bedroom and found Tony asleep in bed and after some quiet investigation when she snuck in, she discovered that he had forgotten to turn his end on. Cassie decided he needed the sleep since even she knew he was notorious for staying up for hours or even days, and she snuck back out of the room and closed the door silently behind her.

Cassie then walks into Diana's room and finds the six month old baby sitting up in her crib with tears rolling down her cheeks. When the ten year old steps closer, Dia calms down a little and holds her arms up as Cassie lowers the railing to the crib and hiccups when she picks her up.

"Are you hungry Dia?" Cassie asks and takes her over to the bed in the room to change her.

The changing table was too high for her to use so the bed was her next option. Cassie grabs the plastic keys for Diana to play with while she changes her diaper and gets her dressed, and when she was done, she picks her back up and leaves the room. 

"I think your Daddy has some baby food for you. Want to try some apples?" Cassie giggles when Diana babbles in response and takes her down to the kitchen to put her in the high chair.

Once she was certain the baby was secure, Cassie looked through the diaper bag that had been left in the living room and pulled out a little glass container of pureed apples and blueberries. She fed Diana about half of it and then cleaned her up and took her out of the highchair, and then carried her over to her swing in the living room. She didn't see it the night before but she didn't see the high chair either so Tony must have set them up for a brief moment of distraction. Once Diana is buckled into her swing, Cassie goes back over to the diaper bag to make her a bottle and gives it to the baby and turns on the tv to a preschool show to keep her occupied.

Cassie had taken to watching how Tony and Stephen (and even the boys at some points) took care of her and made note of every single thing. But now that the baby was taken care of for now, she had nothing to do but wait until food was delivered so she could have breakfast. Cassie put the jar of baby food in the fridge for later and as quickly as she could, she went up to the room to grab her coloring book and pencils, then ran back down to sit in the living room at the coffee table to color since she knew it wasn't a good idea to leave a baby unattended.

It was another hour when Tony finally woke up and came stumbling down the stairs. Both Cassie and Diana looked over at him and the man glanced between them before sighing in relief.

"How long have you been up?" He finally asks and Cassie shrugs.  
"About an hour."  
"Shit...and you fed her and everything? I woke up and realized that I never turned on the monitor--" he stops rambling and rubs his eyes. "Why didn't you wake me up?"  
"You needed the sleep." Cassie says easily. "When will the food be delivered?"  
"Uh...should be any minute now actually." Tony steps over to pat her head. "Thanks for taking care of her. Think you can watch her for a little while longer? I want to get Friday up and running."  
"Uh-huh."

Tony sighs and crouches down to kiss Diana's forehead and he disappears into the garage where Cassie assumed he was going to set up his lab. True to his word, the food delivery came about fifteen minutes later and Cassie brought it all in and put it away, pulling out a large bowl to put on the counter and set the fruit in it. Once that was finished, she poured herself some cereal and took it back into the living room after putting the milk in the fridge and ate at the coffee table. Diana happily babbled at her cartoons as Cassie ate, and when the girl was finished she got up with her bowl and even took the baby's empty bottle from her to wash and put away.

As she was setting the bottle on the drying rack, Tony walked back in and Cassie pointed to the fridge. "I put the food away."  
"You did?" Tony raises an eyebrow and opens the refrigerator to look inside and finds it stocked and organized. "Guess I know who the boss of the house is."

Cassie giggles and puts the step stool away and returns to the living room as Tony finds the coffee and sets about making himself coffee and breakfast. She knew he would probably only willingly make himself food today, but she would make sure he ate no matter what. She wanted to do her dad and Stephen proud and make sure Tony took care of himself.

"Cass? Did you eat?" Tony asks.  
"I had cereal!" She calls back as she colors in a flower with her orange pencil.  
"What did you give Dia?"  
"Half a jar of baby food and some formula."  
"How do you know to do that?" She hears him mumble to himself but doesn't answer him. "Uhh...I think I'm almost done with Friday." He says a little louder.  
"I can watch her. It's okay." Cassie responds.  
"It's just for a little longer. Promise." Tony says as he pours himself some cereal.

It became apparent to Cassie after that day that she would be just as responsible for Diana as Tony was.

If not more.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days… _weeks_...all went the same. Except, as Cassie predicted, Tony didn't make himself breakfast anymore. She also was the one to get Diana when the baby woke up, and diapered and fed her before either putting her in her swing or putting her on her playmat and playing with her. Of course Tony made sure the baby monitor was on after that first night, but he hadn't been sleeping well and usually went down to the garage to further integrate Friday into the house. In the short time they had been there, Tony made video monitors to keep an eye on Diana as well as Cassie and put the receiving ends in his room, the kitchen, and the garage while he installed the cameras with audio feed in Diana's room and the living room.

He showed Cassie how they worked and the one in the kitchen was the one she used on a regular basis. Sometimes she took it with her to the living room and sometimes she took it into her room in case Tony was too distracted by his projects in the garage or he was stuck in another nightmare while sleeping. She knew that he was trying. Trying to be a responsible adult and take care of the two girls in his care, but she also knew what he had gone through. Cassie overheard the remaining adults talking about what happened when Tony got back with the blue lady, and she knew that he watched Stephen turn to dust right in front of him, and Peter…

...well, hearing him recount the story while trying not to cry broke her heart. Peter turned to dust in his arms and he couldn't do a thing about it. He had nightmares about it almost every night.

The first night he had the recurring nightmare, Cassie had woken up in the middle of the night when she heard a strange noise. It scared her at first, but when she got up to go tell Tony, she realized it was coming from _him_. He begged and sobbed in his sleep and when Cassie got close enough to try and wake him up, he jolted out of sleep and stared right at her. She couldn't see very well in the dark but she could feel the pain radiating off of him, and she simply moved closer to fix the blankets over him before she went back to bed. 

Tony always fell right back to sleep before she left the room whenever she made those nightly visits to make sure he was okay. Cassie eventually realized that when he woke up, he was never truly awake. His body was, but his brain never caught up before his body decided to go back to sleep. She supposed she did it so Tony knew that he wasn't alone. Whenever she had nightmares, seeing her Mom or Dad with her when she woke up helped calm her down and she hoped it was the same for Tony.

This morning was one of those days that Tony shut himself away in the garage before Diana woke up, so Cassie had to be the one to take care of her that morning. As soon as the baby was secure in her high chair and happily eating Cheerios one by one, Cassie tied her hair up, rolled up her sleeves, and got everything she would need to make pancakes.

"When you're a little bigger, I'll teach you how to make pancakes." Cassie tells Diana. "Stephen taught me how to make them the right way."

Diana babbles around the Cheerio in her mouth as she watches the little girl mix the pancake batter, and Cassie carefully pours some of it into the greased pan. Instead of stirring in the blueberries, she placed them in different designs as she cooked them in the pan, and before long, she had a small stack of hot pancakes on a plate. Cassie turns off the stove and takes the full plate over to the table where she had set two places and she looks at the baby who was watching curiously.

"He probably had enough coffee already. Orange juice is probably a better idea. What do you think?" She asks Diana.  
"Dada!" Was the answer followed by some more blabbering and a raspberry.  
"I knew you'd agree." Cassie smiles and gets the orange juice out of the fridge and pours some in the two glasses on the table. 

After she puts it back, she walks back over to the highchair, makes sure Diana is secure, and that there's nothing dangerous in reach before hurrying to the garage. Normally she would knock before entering since it was Tony's space, but she was on a mission and she walked right in. Cassie found the billionaire hunched over a workbench, and she walked over and grabbed his arm and started to pull him away, causing him to drop his tools in surprise.

"Wha-- _hey_! What happened to knocking?" He gripes.

Cassie huffs and pulls him inside and over to the kitchen table where Diana is safely and happily eating the last of her cereal. She drops his arm and sits in her spot at the table and looks at him expectantly until he sits across from her and looks at the stack of pancakes between them. She almost expected him to scold her for using the stove without his supervision but he just smiled softly and pulled a few pancakes onto his plate.

"Took care of Dia _and_ made breakfast huh? Geez...the roles have been reversed." He sighs.  
Cassie takes a couple of pancakes and squeezes a little bit of syrup on hers. "It's okay. I like cooking and I like helping with Diana. I gave you orange juice because we think you probably had a lot of coffee already." She says before cutting some of her pancakes and taking a bite.  
"Pfft...coffee was getting boring anyway." His chuckle comes out a little forced. "These are good Cass."

Tony finishes the pancakes on his plate and sticks out his fork to grab another, but when he stops, Cassie looks over at him curiously. The next pancake on the plate had a butterfly design and somehow she knew that it wasn't a good thing. So she quickly takes it and puts it on her plate, leaving the last pancake with a spiral design for Tony to take. Fortunately, he does take it and continues to eat as if nothing had happened. The awkward silence was there, but that was the norm nowadays and on a good day it was broken easily enough.

Diana happened to be the one to do it. Instead of eating her last cheerio, she threw it toward the table and it landed with a plop in Tony's orange juice, and both he and Cassie looked at the glass. The cereal puffs floated on the surface and slowly absorbed the orange juice, turning it soggy, and Tony picked it up and drank it. Cheerio and all.

Cassie scrunched her nose in disgust. "Eww!"  
Tony coughed. "That's for sure."  
"Why did you drink it then?!"  
"I was thirsty and dumping it out would have been a waste."   
"You could have at least taken the Cheerio out." Cassie takes another bite of pancake.  
"Would have risked breaking it up and probably making the juice worse." Tony finishes breakfast with Cassie and he grabs their dishes and takes them to the sink to wash. "Since you made breakfast, it's only fair that I wash the dishes."

Cassie nodded, glad that Tony was up to doing something normal around the house and she grabbed one of Diana's washcloths and took it to the sink to get it wet. She waited for Tony to stop rinsing a plate to put in the rack before she wet the cloth and then wrung it out before taking it over to Diana and wiping her hands and her face. The baby made a face as she did and when she finished, she carefully took Diana out of the high chair and carried her into the living room to play on her playmat. Cassie turned on the TV to something _she_ would want to watch instead of something for Diana but it was still kid friendly. Spongebob was colorful enough to entertain the baby if she decided to watch, and Cassie actually understood what was going on so it was sort of a win-win situation.

It wasn't very educational like the usual baby shows though.

To Cassie's surprise, Tony joined them in the living room when he was done with the dishes, and he sat on the couch next to her. "Spongebob huh?"  
"Yeah. It's my turn. Diana's playing with her toys." Cassie responds.

They both look over at the baby and Diana looks back with a large plastic ring in her mouth. It soon lost its appeal and she dropped it on her playmat to reach for the plastic keys instead and the second she picked them up, she waved her hand wildly. The keys clacked together noisily and Diana laughed like it was the funniest noise in the world.

Considering the circumstances, it probably was.

"Are you going to go back into the garage?" Cassie asks after a few minutes of comfortable silence.  
"Maybe later. Not right now." Tony says.  
"What are you working on in there? Aren't you finished with Friday?"   
The engineer sighs. "For the most part, yeah. I'm just... distracting myself from my thoughts I guess. Having you and Diana around helps too. You've been very helpful."   
Cassie smiles. "I told you. I like cooking and helping with Dia. I _want_ to help."  
"You do...and I appreciate it." Tony looks out the nearby window. "How do you feel about a garden?"

Cassie looks over at him in excitement. She liked gardening too. It was something she and her dad did during the two years he was under house arrest. It didn't take them long to turn the small backyard into a wonderland, and some plants even found themselves inside the house.

"A vegetable garden?!" She asks.  
"Sure. Maybe some berries too." Tony confirms. "I'm sure the princess would like getting dirty.  
"I've always wanted to have a vegetable garden. When can we do it?" Cassie wonders and Tony rubs his goatee in thought.  
"I'll have to order some wood, soil, plants, and seeds…"  
Cassie makes a face. "Order? We should go pick it up. Wouldn't it be better if we could choose the plants?"

Tony looked at her and Cassie opened her mouth to take it back when she saw the uncertainty in his eyes, but then she closed it when he nodded.

"You have a point. Maybe there will be someone there that knows about vegetable gardens because I don't think either of us do." He says. 

Cassie heard the _what's left of people in the world_ , but didn't comment. 

"We'll go this weekend. Sound good?" Tony asks.   
"Yeah."  
"Don't be afraid to drag me out of the garage or away from something I'm doing if I forget." Tony leans farther into the couch as Cassie smirks.  
"I won't. It's how I got you to eat breakfast!"  
"I'm glad you did. It was good. How about chocolate chips next time?" He requests.  
"Deal."

Diana then babbles loudly and Tony leans forward again to pick her up and set her on his knee. He played with her while Cassie turned her attention back to the tv, but she didn't fail to notice the sadness lurking in Tony's eyes. She knew why it was there. It wasn't just his usual upsets...but it was also because Diana looked like Stephen. At least, that's what she'd heard him say before everything happened. She didn't see it like the adults did but she at least knew Dia had Stephen's pretty blue eyes. Maybe that was why Tony got visibly upset during breakfast. Cassie vaguely remembered Stephen using a spell one day that made blue butterflies flutter around him and the baby.

She would have to be careful about that in the future.


	3. Chapter 3

A few months passed as Cassie made sure that Tony ate and resembled some sort of human, and in those few months, Diana had graduated from crawling to walking. Tony was fortunately there for the baby's first steps and Cassie could see how proud he was. He encouraged her to walk over the course of the rest of that day, but before that, the man had looked around with a smile. Only for it to fall. Cassie knew he instinctively started looking for Stephen but when he remembered that the sorcerer wasn't there, his mood fell for a little bit before he smiled again and held Diana's hands. The smile didn't reach his eyes after his realization but Cassie was glad he was smiling regardless.

She knew that now they would have to keep an even closer eye on Diana now that she was walking, and to both their amusement, the baby followed Cassie around like a little duckling. Dia was learning more and more words, and it made Cassie really happy when she learned the word "sissy". She was a smart baby and the little girl always showed her pictures in Peter's photo album and pointed everyone out and told her their names. Diana quickly caught on and since Tony was referring to Cassie as "sissy" and "Cassie" whenever he talked to Diana, she learned what to call her.

Now, Cassie could hear Tony giving her a bath as she drew in a blank notepad he had bought for the young girl a few weeks ago, and giggled when she heard splashing. Diana loved bath time and more often than not, by the time she was done, it looked like Tony took one too. He was doing a little better now and paying more attention to them, but Cassie still helped of course. Sometimes she even took a bath with Dia, but without Tony in the bathroom. He trusted Cassie to take care of Diana, but he also made extra sure to keep an ear out in case she called for him or if FRIDAY alerted him to a problem.

"Sissy! Sissy!" Diana screeches and Tony sighs.  
"Ouch. Choosing Miss Sass over your old man?" Tony jokes.  
" _Sissy!_ " The baby says again and Cassie could _hear_ her tiny glare.  
"Alright, alright. Cassie!" Tony calls out.  
The little girl giggles again and closes her notebook. "I'm coming!" She responds.

She wasn't going to join Diana in her bath today, but she would at least sit by the tub for her and fortunately it was enough for Diana. Cassie wouldn't have to sit long since Tony probably got her washed up and now she just wanted to play, but it would give Tony time to get Diana her pajamas and a clean diaper. When Cassie left her bedroom and went into Tony's bedroom and the adjoining bathroom, she grinned when Tony turned and she saw that most of the front of his shirt was soaking wet.

"Oh haha, alright. Laugh it up." He huffs and gets up with a groan. "I'm getting too old for this. We might need to make this something you're responsible for."  
Cassie shrugs. "Okay."  
Tony eyes her for a few moments and then moves past her as she takes his previous spot. "She's just playing now. I'll be right back." He says and then slips out of the bathroom.

While they waited, Cassie played with the bubbles with Diana and she laughed when Cassie pops one near her. It didn't take long for Tony to get back and he handed the diaper and pajamas to Cassie so he could grab a towel and haul the baby out of the tub.

"Alright _piccola_. Time to get dressed and go to bed." He grunts as he lifts her out and then looks at Cassie. "By the way, did you finish your homework?"  
"Yup!" Cassie smiles and follows him over to his bed after pulling the plug in the tub.  
"Alright. Good. You can go back to whatever you were doing now." He nods his thanks when she hands the clothes back over, and she goes back to her bedroom.

The world hadn't quite recovered from the snap yet, so for now parents or family members were homeschooling their kids (or any remaining) and Tony set up a program for her. FRIDAY helped him put together a curriculum that was acceptable for Cassie, and on the weekdays he sat down with her for a couple of hours to teach her whatever lessons were scheduled for that day. Then he would leave her to do her work for an hour before asking her to keep an eye on Diana so he could work on his current project.

He was usually only working until around dinner time and they both alternated between cooking. Tony did the more difficult dishes and Cassie was capable of the simpler ones. When Cassie cooked, she put Diana in the playpen in the living room with some toys so she didn't have to worry about her getting into trouble. When Tony did, Cassie continued watching and playing with her until dinner was ready. Whatever homework she had left, Cassie finished it after dinner since Tony was done with his project for the day.

He had made the promise to her that he wouldn't put all the responsibility of housework and watching Diana on her and he was doing a good job of keeping that promise.

Cassie decided to watch a movie in her room before bed and turned it down low when she heard Tony putting Diana in bed. He always spoke softly to her in Italian and then had FRIDAY play a lullaby playlist, and quietly left the room after making sure the monitor was on. Diana always fell asleep without a fuss on bath days...not that she was much of a fussy baby in the first place.

A few moments later, Tony opens the door a little more to check on her. "Movie before bed?"  
"Yeah."  
"Alright then. We have to tend to the garden tomorrow." He says and Cassie nods.  
"I think the blackberries are ready."  
"I think so too. Maybe we can have pancakes with blackberry syrup tomorrow. Sound good?" Cassie nods and he starts to close the door behind him. "Goodnight Miss Sass."

==========

Cassie was up bright and early the next morning, even before Diana, to go out and pick the fruits and vegetables that were ripe. Tony showed her when each thing was ready so she knew what to pick and what she knew needed more time to grow. By the time she was done and she carried everything back inside, Tony was putting Diana in her highchair and the baby yawned cutely and rubbed her eyes.

"How many blackberries do we have?" Tony asks and Cassie puts the basket on the counter.  
"Is this enough for syrup?"  
"I think so." Tony says. "How about you get the pancake batter ready and I'll make the syrup?"  
"Okay!"  
"Get the princess some cereal puffs before you do will you?"

Cassie nods and grabs the baby cereal puffs from one of the lower cabinets and pours some out on Diana's tray. Dia picks one up and sticks it into her mouth as Cassie puts the container away, and then she starts pulling everything out for pancakes. Breakfast was made as Diana periodically throws a cereal puff in their direction, and they both laugh when one manages to land in the cooling syrup. Tony had just finished it when she threw the puff, and he quickly scoops it out and blows on it. Once he's sure it's cool enough for Diana, he walks over and feeds it to her and then laughs when her eyes get big.

"You like that?" He chuckles when she opens her mouth for more. "Alright. One more." He repeats the process, minus the throwing of the puff, and feeds it to her and she actually makes a satisfied hum.  
"She likes blackberries." Cassie smiles and puts the last pancake on the stack and turns off the stove.  
"I have a feeling that when she's older, I'm going to find her picking berries straight off the vine with her mouth stained." Tony shakes his head.  
"Don't you want her to eat lots of fruit instead of candy or cookies?" Cassie asks. "Daddy said fruit is nature's candy and it's better for you."  
"He was right." Tony nods. "Come on. Let's eat." 

Cassie carefully carries the plate of pancakes to the table as Tony pours the syrup into a small ceramic pitcher, and then he joins her at the table after pulling Diana's chair closer to the table. The older girl hums happily once she gets her pancakes and pours the syrup on top, and Tony smiles.

"You like it too huh?"  
"Can we try different syrups? Like raspberry?" She asks.  
Tony nods. "If we have the fruit and there's a recipe, we can try it. Deal?"  
"Deal." Cassie nods and shoves another forkful into her mouth.  
"Here you go princess." Tony says as he puts some small pieces of pancake on Diana's tray for her to eat. "Thank Sissy for making breakfast."  
"Ba!" Diana says around a piece of pancake and Tony rolls his eyes.  
"Close enough."

They eat happily until about halfway through when Cassie looks over at Tony.

"Tony?"  
"Hmm?"  
Cassie hesitates for a moment. "Can we get a pet?"  
"A pet?" Tony asks once he swallows his food. "What kind of pet?"  
"I don't know. Maybe like Tibbs? I liked Tibbs." She says softly. "I miss him."  
"Yeah...I miss him too kiddo. He was a good lab cat." Tony pokes his fork into more pancake pieces after cutting it. "I don't have to give you the talk about how pets are a big responsibility since you already know and you help take care of Diana…" he pauses to eat his forkful and chews thoughtfully and then swallows. "I'll think about it alright?"  
Cassie nods. "Okay."

His answer was honestly better than she expected. She assumed he would say no, especially after bringing up Tibbs, but he said he would _think about it_. Cassie was a little excited but was careful not to get her hopes up. Even if Tony decided she could only have fish, she would be happy. It would bring a little more life to the cabin and maybe that would help things feel a little more normal. There was only so much she could do with Diana or Tony. Diana was a baby and Tony had different interests, but he did occasionally humor her and watch a Disney movie with her. That was something he was used to.

"What are you working on in the garage?" Cassie asks when they finish breakfast and start cleaning up. She frowns when Tony pauses briefly. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay."  
Tony clears his throat and shakes his head. "I...I'm working on a suit. The one I've been meaning to build for Harley." He answers quietly.  
"I'm sure he'd like it." She says.  
"I think so too. It's going to look a lot like mine, but I think the colors will be blue and silver instead of red and gold."  
"What are you going to call it?"

Tony looks at her and then back at the dishes he's rinsing. He didn't answer at first, and she thought maybe she had gone too far with her questions, but then he said:

"I don't know yet. I don't usually name the suits until they're finished. Just in case I have to scrap them." He tells her.  
"Oh. That makes sense."  
"Bababurrrrr!" Diana announces loudly and slams her hands on her tray. "Sissy!"  
Tony laughs. "Can you take her out and play with her while I finish up here?"  
Cassie nods and looks over at Diana and giggles when she sees a smear of blackberry syrup at the corner of her mouth. "I should wipe her face first."  
"Too bad she can't swim or I'd tell you to just toss her in the lake and be done with it."

Cassie looks up at him and narrows her eyes when she finds a smug grin on his face.

"You're gonna do it when she _does_ learn aren't you?"  
"Maybe."


	4. Chapter 4

"...what is this?"

Tony had woken Cassie early that morning so she could keep an ear out for Diana while he ran errands. She had no idea where he needed to go so early in the morning but when he got home, everything explained itself. Cassie was in the middle of eating her cereal after making sure the baby was taken care of when Tony nearly burst through the door. After shoveling the rest of her breakfast into her mouth, and Tony got Dia out of her high chair, he herded them out front just in time to see a trailer driving away. Just as Cassie was about to ask what it was for, Tony led them around the corner where she found an alpaca happily grazing on bits of grass.

"Your pet alpaca!" Tony says with a grin and Cassie looks up at him before sighing. "What? What's with that look?"  
"You're so extra." She tells him flatly as Diana pries herself away from Cassie's leg to waddle over to the alpaca.  
Tony snorts. "Then I wouldn't be Tony Stark."  
"I meant a puppy or a kitten. Or even a fish!" Cassie says with some exaggeration. "You went with an alpaca!"  
"Don't sass me." 

Cassie rolls her eyes and watches Diana pet the alpaca in the way only babies can, glad that it didn't seem bothered with her. She really didn't want to be spit on if it felt threatened. She knew that because she did a lot of reading about animals on the tablet Tony gave her. At least it was another...what did Peter call Tibbs? 

A chill animal.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Cassie asks Tony.  
"Boy. You going to name him?"  
"Uhh...I can't think of anything." She looks at the alpaca that happens to be staring back at her while munching lazily on grass.  
"Alright then. We'll call him Gerald." Tony claps his hands together and then rubs them."Let's get him settled in his new home."  
Cassie gives him another look. "He's not going to sleep in the house is he?"  
"What? Pfft. No. I had a little stable built for him."

Cassie picks up Diana while Tony leads Gerald to the small stable behind the house, and they watch as he gives the alpaca a large pile of hay. She knew that this would likely turn into one of her daily chores, but she was okay with it because she expected it. There was just one thing she refused to do.

"I'm not picking up his poop." Cassie says as she turns to take Diana back inside.  
"What?! You wanted a pet!"  
"You wanted to be extra so you have to pay the consequences!" She calls back.  
"Do you take after your mother or was your dad a secret sass monster?"  
"My dad!" She replies and closes the back door when she gets back inside. "I hope you take after your mommy." She mumbles to Diana.

=======

A few years passed similarly, and as Cassie got older, she took on more of the household responsibilities. She cooked more, cleaned, took care of Diana and Tony, and took care of Gerald too. For the most part, Tony did clean up after the alpaca but every once in a while she would have to do it. Potty training Diana was actually pretty easy. She was ready to learn by the time she was running and she wasn't even two years old yet.

The biggest thing that happened was when...puberty hit Cassie. Fortunately she had an idea of what was going on, but neither of her parents had been able to give her the talk before the snap. Tony...bless his heart...gave her the talk even though she knew he was wildly uncomfortable about it. He hid it well, but it wasn't that the subject made him squeamish, but the fact that he had to be the one to talk to her. He felt he wasn't the right person to answer all of her questions, so he told her what he could and then did the smart thing by calling Pepper. 

To Cassie's amusement, Tony had no problem buying her sanitary products when she needed them. When they were at the store and Cassie told him that she needed to restock, Tony nodded and took her down the feminine hygiene aisle.

_"You're not embarrassed?"  
"Nope. It's a part of life and one day Diana will need them too."_

Tony sighed after he said that and it made Cassie laugh because she knew it was because he was faced with the reality that his little girl would one day grow up. She smiled when she was done laughing and pat his arm before picking out what she needed and adding it to the cart. 

Now, at fifteen, she was currently stuck in the bathroom after looking under the sink and finding that she hadn't put her new box of tampons under it after their shopping trip yesterday. Cassie groans and reaches for the door and cracks it open.

"Dia!" She calls loudly.  
"Yeah?" The five year old replies from downstairs.  
"Can you get my box of tampons from the bag on the table and bring them up to me?"  
"Kay!"

There was crinkling of the grocery bag a couple moments later, thumping on the stairs, and then the bathroom door swung wide open. Cassie's eyes widen and she scrambles to at least get Diana in the bathroom so she can close the door, and the little girl puts the box on the sink. The teen was used to Dia barging in on her whether it was in the bathroom or her bedroom, and was working on privacy with her. 

"Dia! I talked to you about this!" Cassie sighs and grabs the box.  
"Daddy is in the garage." She says.  
"Okay, well, that's not the point. You knock and crack the door open just enough to come in if I'm in the bathroom or changing in my room." Cassie points to the door. "Practice that while leaving and close the door behind you, okay?"  
"Can we make cookies?"  
" _Diana._ "

The little girl sighs dramatically and leaves the bathroom just like Cassie taught her to, and when she closes the door behind her, the teen finishes up. After storing the box under the sink and washing her hands, she goes downstairs and shakes her head with an amused smile when she finds Diana pulling out all of the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. Just this once she would go with Dia's decision since cookies did sound good, and it would probably lure Tony out of the garage for the day.

"I guess I better go put my hair up." Cassie says and turns back toward the stairs.  
"Oh! Me too!" Diana says and follows after her after carefully putting the sugar on the counter.

It was a bonding technique they enjoyed together. Every morning, or after a bath, Diana would go into Cassie's room with a brush and the teen would turn on the TV so Diana could watch it while Cassie brushed her hair. Now, while Diana crawled onto Cassie's bed when they got to the teen's room, Cassie grabs her brush and a couple of hair ties and smiles when she sits on the bed behind the little girl. This time, Diana was content to read one of her picture books while Cassie brushed her hair, and the older girl took a little longer than usual to put Dia's hair up in a small ponytail.

"Will my hair get as long as yours, Sissy?"  
"Sure it will."  
"Daddy keeps telling the haircut lady to cut it short like this." Diana pouts and Cassie laughs as she ties her hair.  
"That's because he doesn't want to hurt you if he ends up having to brush your hair."  
"But you almost always brush my hair."  
"Almost. Just be patient. Your hair grows fast and soon you won't need his help." 

Cassie smiles and gets back up to look in her mirror and brush her hair back into a ponytail, and Diana patiently reads her book while she waits. A few of her things ended up finding a semi-permanent home in the teen's room since she spent so much time with Cassie, and there were times she ended up falling asleep with her. Cassie didn't mind it since it didn't happen all the time, and she even enjoyed the company. There were just some things only another girl would understand that Tony wouldn't. Or maybe he would understand but Cassie didn't feel like torturing him.

"Would Mommy have brushed my hair?" Diana asks quietly and Cassie sets her hairbrush down when she finishes.  
"Maybe. He would have at least tried."  
"Because of his hands?"  
"Mmhmm." Cassie holds out her hand and helps Dia off the bed when she takes it.  
"How come Daddy doesn't talk about him or Peter or Harley?"

Cassie stops and kneels down in front of Diana. The little girl knew about the snap even if she didn't fully understand what happened. She knew that her mom and brothers were taken away because of it and Cassie's dad as well, but she didn't know that Tony watched it happen. He asked Cassie not to tell Diana that bit of detail and she promised she wouldn't, only telling Dia what she could to help her understand.

"Because it still hurts him Dia." Cassie says softly.  
"Does thinking about your daddy still hurt you too?" Diana asks.  
"Yeah...not as much as it used to but...the reasons are different. That's all I can say."  
"... okay."

Poor Diana knew when a subject should be left alone, and unfortunately the taboo was about her deceased family. She just wanted to know about them and the majority of the task landed on Cassie's shoulders. Sometimes the other Avengers would visit and tell stories that Diana drank in like a sponge, but for the most part it was Cassie telling her the stories and whatever Tony let slip. The older girl often caught Diana looking through Peter's photo album before bed and would tell her a couple of stories before having her go to sleep. Cassie never begrudged Tony for it though. He watched Stephen and Peter (and the other people he allied with) turn to dust. Cassie was fortunate enough not to actually see anyone get dusted. Especially her father. If she did, she had a feeling she would be hurting just as much as Tony.

"Let's go make those cookies now. Maybe we can make some with butterscotch chips for your dad."  
"He likes milk with his cookies too!"  
"He does. I think we'll all have milk and cookies."

Diana smiles and races down to the kitchen to pull out the rest of the ingredients, and Cassie turns on the oven when she finally makes it down as well. After checking that Diana got everything they needed, they started to pour everything into the mixer. As they were pouring the flour mixture in with the wet ingredients, the mixer was going too fast for the amount poured in and the flour blew up in their faces. The two cough and wipe their faces free of it before finishing, and Tony walks in just after they put the first two sheets in.

He promptly started laughing.

"You making flour bombs in here or cookies?" He chuckles.  
"Guess you'll have to find out." Cassie answers as she wipes the rest of the flour off of Diana.  
"Having fun _piccola_?" He asks Diana.  
"Uh-huh! We made some cookies with butter...umm…" she furrows her brows together in thought and then smiles. "Butterscotch! Just for you!"  
"Oh yeah? I'm looking forward to them. You two always make the best cookies." Tony smiles as he sneaks behind them to grab the bag of coffee beans from the cupboard.

Cassie promptly smacked his hand though and took them to put them back.

"No! Breakfast only and two cups maximum!" She scolds as Tony shakes his hand.  
"I feel like I'm losing my authority in my own house." He gripes half-heartedly.  
"Don't be so overdramatic about coffee. Just wait a few minutes and you can have milk with cookies like we're going to." Cassie huffs.  
"Alright, alright. I'll go watch tv in the living room." Tony says. "No more flour bombs."

Cassie grabs a cleanish measuring spoon and chucks it at his head.


	5. Chapter 5

There was a scream followed by a loud splash and then soon followed by Diana yelling "again". Summer was in full swing and of course Tony made sure to teach Diana how to swim the second she was able. He was always worried about her walking over to the lake and drowning from the moment she started walking, and she took to the water like a fish. Tony was significantly less worried after Diana learned, but he always made sure she was supervised. At the moment, all three of them were outside and the man was carefully throwing her off the little wooden pier while Cassie tended to the garden. Gerald was nearby lazily munching on some overgrown grass, and possibly still a little miffed about the fence that surrounded the garden.

The little garden had grown in the five years since they planted it and Gerald was constantly trying to eat all of their fruits and vegetables. So Tony put his foot down and built a fence around it so the alpaca couldn't get into the garden anymore and sample the goods. It was pretty funny watching him try to reach the garden over the fence for the first hour after it was officially up. Now he had to wait for one of the humans to be kind enough to treat him.

It happened often enough that he mostly stopped trying to get the berries himself.

Cassie sighs and gathers the last of the ripe zucchini and stands with the full basket. "How does a salad sound for lunch?" She calls out.  
Tony looks over from helping Diana out of the lake and throwing a towel around her. "Why are you always trying to feed me rabbit food?!"  
"Because we grow it!" She huffs and opens the gate to the garden to leave and then quickly closes it behind her. "It's good for you!"  
"I knew I would regret that garden." Tony grunts as Diana runs over to her fort and crawls in. "Stay out of the lake, _piccola_!" He calls as he follows Cassie inside.

She went over to the sink to wash the fruits and vegetables as Tony went into the garage to work on...whatever. He mostly tinkered these days and it was only for a couple of hours. If he was in there longer, it usually meant he thought of a project, but he still didn't stay in the garage all day like he used to when they first moved to the lake house. Cassie counted it as a win and didn't try to drag him out as often.

When she finished washing the vegetables, she put some aside to go with dinner and grabbed a cucumber to chop up. It went in with some lettuce, tomatoes, and olives in a bowl and then she grabbed the box of croutons from the cabinet. She added a good amount to the salad before mixing it all together and then grabbed the dressing from the fridge to be added separately. There would likely be leftovers and if she put the dressing in too, it would make the salad soggy and then none of them would eat it.

Once she puts the bowl in the middle of the table and sets some smaller bowls down with it, she turns toward the garage door and walks over to open it.

"Salad is ready." When Tony makes a face, Cassie sighs. "I'll make pasta to go with it if you come out and go get Dia."  
The engineer straightens. "Alright, fine."  
"I can't believe I have to compromise with a grown man to get him to eat some vegetables." Cassie rolls her eyes as Tony walks past her.  
"Hey! I eat my vegetables! I just don't want my meal to be _just_ vegetables!" Tony exclaims.  
"You're supposed to be the adult!"  
"And you're supposed to be a kid." He points out.

They both stand in silence. She knew what he had meant, but didn't take offense to it. In fact, she was pretty sure that he was feeling bad about how much she was doing even when she assured him multiple times that she didn't mind. Which she didn't.

"Life dealt us a pretty crappy hand," Tony finally says quietly. "You...you had to grow up faster than you should have because I was taking too long to step back up."

Cassie sighs. "I don't think I would have been able to either of I saw what you did. I'm pretty sure the rest of the world that went through what you did had their issues too." Tony opens his mouth to argue but she continues. "I would have only been angry with you if you hid in the garage all this time and left me to Diana. It took time, but you came out. Now you're hardly in the garage. I don't blame you and I know you didn't take me in to take care of Dia for you."

Tony nods and kisses her forehead. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

And that was that. He went out the back door to go retrieve Diana for lunch and Cassie went back to the kitchen to put some pasta on the stove. She poured some in the water once it started boiling and when it was done about ten minutes later, Tony and Diana still hadn't come inside. Cassie made sure to drain the pasta and left it in the strainer before walking out the back door to see what was taking so long. She didn't find either of them near Dia's fort so she went around toward the front when she heard voices coming from that direction.

She found Tony holding Diana, who was wrapped up in her towel and was talking to Natasha and Steve. Cassie saw part of a third person next to the captain but couldn't quite make them out since the blonde was taller.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long." She finally says, gaining everyone's attention. 

There was shock, clear as day on Tony's face, but before she could ask about it, the third person finally stepped into full view. Cassie froze halfway to them and almost pinched herself when she saw her father. Was she dreaming? Scott was one of the victims of the snap, but now he was here? How did he come back? She was so confused, but even more so than that, she was so, so happy. She hardly noticed when she ran the last few feet to throw her arms around her father. One second she was staring at her father in shock, much like Tony had, and the next, she was crying into his shoulder and hugging him so tightly because she was afraid it was all a dream.

What seemed like ages later, they finally pulled away from each other and Cassie smiled as she wiped her eyes. "I guess I have to make more food."  
"Oh my god, _food_." Scott says. "I'm starving!"

=========

Scott ate like a man who hadn't eaten in forever and according to him that wasn't much of an exaggeration. He'd technically gone five years without eating and Cassie made sure to feed him until he was full. Natasha and Steve stayed for lunch, but they opted to head back to the compound while Scott stayed at the lake house to stay the night. He and Cassie were currently laying on her bed with the tv on and she was curled up against him as much as possible. The silence was comfortable and Cassie enjoyed being able to cuddle with her dad again with strong arms wrapped around her.

Tony and Diana even made sure to let them have their space.

"I missed you." Cassie whispers.  
Scott kisses the top of her head. "I'm sorry peanut. It may have only been a few hours for me but I missed you too. I always do."  
"Will you stay? In here with me, I mean." Cassie asks. "I'm...still kind of afraid you'll be gone when I wake up."  
"I'll stay until you wake up." Scott promises. "I'll stay until Tony figures out a way to bring the rest of our family back, and when he does, I'm going with him to help."

She didn't really like the idea of her father leaving to possibly risk his life again, but if there was a way to bring everyone else back, she wouldn't complain. Diana deserved to have her mother and brothers back. Tony needed them back too. Cassie saw the small glimmer of hope in everyone's eyes when they talked about the chance to make everything right again, and she couldn't begrudge them that. She got her dad back on a fluke, so who's to say they couldn't use that fluke?

"You promise to be careful if he does figure something out?" Cassie asks.  
"Promise. We have a lot of catching up to do." Scott smiles.

She slept easy that night. Her father's warmth was comforting and she seemed him out constantly over the next few days. There was always that small nagging fear that it would be the last time she would ever see him, but she did a pretty good job of ignoring it. When he and Tony left the cabin after figuring out time travel, Cassie was left to watch Diana with the promise that Happy would come help keep an eye on them until they got back.

It took a few days with hardly any updates since Diana didn't even know what was going on or why her Daddy had left. Cassie had to keep a strong face for her and tried to keep to their usual activities until one day when multiple portals opened in their backyard. All of the Avengers came through, including ones that had been victims of the snap and she felt her heart nearly burst with joy as she got Diana and led her outside with Happy. Watching the little girl stare up at the doctor when he stepped through one of the portals, and then run up to him in pure joy almost made Cassie cry again. 

Stephen easily accepted the little girl despite the shock on his face as Tony was helped through the portal by Bucky. Even from where she was standing, Cassie could see the remains of charred skin on Tony's arm, but although he looked exhausted and in pain, he seemed relatively okay. He was led inside and up to his room to rest with Stephen following close behind, and that left Cassie to look for her father. It didn't take long to find him, and he was partially hanging onto Sam looking like he might have grown one too many times. He told her so when she went to check on him.

Poor Stephen didn't get a chance to bond with Diana right away. He and Bruce got busy making sure everyone was relatively healthy and not toeing a dangerous line, and Cassie got to work making huge amounts of food for everyone. Bucky eventually joined her and helped, and only when the food was ready, did Stephen get a chance to sit down for a minute. Diana jumped at the chance, ditching her brothers who she had spent time with in the meantime but they didn't complain. 

Seeing everyone reunited with their loved ones warmed Cassie's heart and it felt like home again. It was loud, it was a little chaotic, and she never realized how much she truly missed it. They had a victory party that lasted a full week once Tony was up and about, and just when Cassie was about to worry about the almost hidden gleam of sadness in her father's eyes...it seemed to vanish. She did notice that Scott had taken a shine to someone she didn't recognize (apparently one of the people Tony fought alongside with in space when she asked him about him), and they were friends from the moment they got acquainted.

Cassie watched them constantly. Watched their body language as they talked and laughed together, and she saw her father do something she hadn't seen him do since she was a small child. He smiled. Not the kind of smile that he showed everyone or even her...but a smile that actually reached his eyes. That was when she decided to properly meet the other man, and that was when she found out his name. 

Quill. 

Of course, she sized him up just so she could get an idea of what kind of person he was, but what she saw made her back down. There was pain in his eyes. A lonely kind of pain that was similar to what she saw in her father. Cassie backed off again and continued to watch them. She watched them be so open with each other, but with everyone else, they talked like they were friends. With each other, it was different. She couldn't put her finger on it either, but something told her she wouldn't have to worry about her father being happy anymore.

"Hey, are there...uh...anymore of those little ham rolls?" A voice interrupts Cassie's thoughts and she looks up from the vegetables she's chopping to look at Peter.  
"Yeah. Hang on." Cassie finishes cutting the cucumber and walks over to the fridge to pull out the plate full of ham rolls. She hands them over to the older boy, almost missing the blush grace his cheeks.  
"Thanks." He stammers before hightailing it back outside.

Cassie had her own agenda now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all! Let me know what you think! I'll be honest and say I was hoping to write more about what happened but maybe in the future I'll come back and edge some stuff in. For now it is finished.

**Author's Note:**

> This is not a romantic relationship! Diana is Tony's and Stephen's, and Tony is just taking care of Cassie since she has nowhere else to go. (Well more like Cassie is taking care of _them_ but details lol).
> 
> Let me know what you think so far! Comments motivate me!
> 
> Also, there's a Mama Bear Discord and if you would like to join, here's the link:
> 
> https://discord.gg/ntbbsJK


End file.
